Cheb
Encyclopedia
Cheb (ˈxɛp; ) is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic
, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře
(also called Eger in German), at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny
and near the border with Germany
. Prior to 1945, the town was the centre of the German-speaking region known as Egerland
, and was part of the Northern Austro-Bavarian
dialect area.
The name of the city was in 1061 recorded as Egire; in 1179 it was known as Egra; from 1322 as Eger and the surrounding territory as Regio Egere and Provincia Egrensis; after the 14th century also as Cheb or Chba. From 1850 it was given the twin official names of Eger and Cheb.
The twin towns of Cheb are Hof
in Germany
, Rheden
in the Netherlands
and Nizhny Tagil
in Russia
.
The first known settlement in the area was a Slavic stronghold at what is now called Jánský Vrch, north of the town-centre. In 807 the district of today's Cheb was included in the new margraviate of East Franconia, which belonged at first to the Babenberg
s, but from 906 to the counts of Vohburg
, who took the title of margraves. In 1179 town status was achieved, and the castle was built in the 12th century. In 1149, by the marriage of Adela of Vohburg to the emperor Frederick I
, Eger (Cheb) came into the possession of the House of Swabia
, and remained in the hands of the emperors until the early 13th century, during which time it became an Imperial Free City.
In 1265 it was taken by the king Ottokar II of Bohemia
, who retained it for eleven years. After being repeatedly transferred from the one power to the other, according to the preponderance of Bohemia or the empire, the town and territory were finally incorporated into Bohemia in 1322, under John of Bohemia. Several imperial privileges, however, continued to be enjoyed by the town until 1849.
On 5 May 1389, during a Reichstag
between King Wenceslaus
and a group of Imperial Free Cities of south-west Germany, the Peace of Eger was agreed upon, after Wenceslaus had failed to secure his interests in the city.
It suffered severely during the Hussite Wars
, during the Swedish
invasion in 1631 and 1647, and in the War of the Austrian Succession
in 1742. In 1634, during the Thirty Years' War
, Albrecht von Wallenstein
was killed here. George of Podebrady
(the main square is named after him) married his daughter and farthered two sons in the city. From the Middle Ages
until 1945, the lands around the town were known by the German name Egerland
.
In 1723, Cheb became a free royal town. The northern quarter of the town was devastated by a large fire in 1809, and many middle-age buildings were irreplaceably destroyed. Until 1851, the renowned spa-town of Františkovy Lázně
belonged to the Magistrate of Cheb. The carbonated mineral water coming from these springs was delivered to spa visitors residing in Cheb.
Geographers of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy proclaimed the nearby 939m high Tillen (Dileň in Czech) as the geographical centre of Europe
. This claim was documented on a copper plaque mounted at the summit.
Austrian National Socialism
and hence German National Socialism
can trace its origins to Cheb when Franko Stein transferred a small newspaper (Der Hammer) from Vienna
to Cheb in 1897. There he organized a German workers congress called the Deutschvölkischer Arbeitertag, which published the 25-point program.
The terms of the 1919 Treaty of St. Germain triggered civil unrest between the Sudeten German population and the new Czechoslovak administration, just as in the rest of the Sudetenland
. As elsewhere, protests in the town - now officially named Cheb - were eventually suppressed by force.
On 3 October 1938, the town was visited by Adolf Hitler
; shortly afterwards German troops marched into the Sudetenland and seized control. From 1938 until 1945 the town was annexed to Germany. On 1 May 1939, the town split away from the surrounding district to form its own municipal district together with the settlement of Matzelbach, and gave its name to the most westerly of the three administrative regions of the Sudetenland. The administrative seat of the Regierungspräsident
lay in Karlsbad, however.
After the end of World War II
the region was returned to Czechoslovakia
. Under the Beneš decrees
of the same year, the German-speaking majority of the town was dispossessed of their homes and property, and was forcibly expelled from the country
. In 1954, the town of Amberg
in Germany adopted the expelled Sudeten German population from Cheb and the surrounding districts.
On 24 August 2001, German Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder
and Czech Prime Minister Miloš Zeman
visited the Euregio
Egrensis (a cross-border initiative between districts in Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia and Bohemia), and received the Freedom of the City of Cheb.
In 2004, a town-twinning agreement was made with Hof
in Bavaria. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain
, Cheb has also had cordial relationships with the neighbouring German towns of Waldsassen
and Marktredwitz
.
The current population includes a large group of Vietnamese, whose families were invited to the country as guest workers during the Communist era, and Roma, who were resettled after the Second World War.
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On the rock, to the north-west of the city center, lies Cheb castle, built in the 12th century, and now mostly in ruins.
The main attractions are the Chapel of St Erhard and Ursula, the Black Tower and the ruins of a palace; all from around 1180. The chapel has two stories; the lower storey is in Romanesque
style, while the upper storey is Gothic
. An eight-cornered opening connects the two storeys. The upper-storey contains a ribbed vault supported on four polygonal columns with statues depicting sins, including a statue of a prostitute and Onan
. In the banquet room of this castle, Wallenstein
's officers Terzky, Kinsky, Illo and Neumann were assassinated on February 25, 1634. Wallenstein himself was murdered few hours later by Captain Devereux in the burgomaster's house at the main square. The house, a 15th century gothic town hall (Pachelbel House), was transformed in 1872, it contains many historical relics and antiquities of the town of Cheb.
On the Market Place dating from the 13th century are a group of houses originating from the late-Gothic period known as Špalíček. This distinctive feature of the market place is a bizarre complex of eleven houses. The outline of the two blocks can still be seen on the oldest existing records of 1472.
The Green House on the market place belonged to the well-known Wrendl dynasty, whose family crest lies above the entrance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
frequently spent time here.
The Church of St. Nicholas was established in the 13th century as a three-naved basilica
, of which the western portal and the lower part of the tower remain in place. The three-part nave, presbytery
and sacristy
stem from the Gothic era. After the fire of 1742, the tower was rebuilt with a baroque
cupola
, after the design of the indigenous architect Balthasar Neumann
. The top of the twin steeples were destroyed by German artillery fire during World War II
and restored in summer 2008.
The Franciscan Church is located in the town center. The Church of St. Clara was built between 1708 and 1711 according to a design of Christoph Dientzenhofer.
(Karlsbad), Marianské Lázně
(Marienbad) and Františkovy Lázně
(Franzensbad) are located only a few kilometres away from Cheb. The German state of Bavaria
is easily reached by car via the Svatý Kříž-Waldsassen
border-crossing, while the musically renowned areas of Saxon
Vogtland
can be accessed via the Kraslice
-Klingenthal
and Vojtanov
-Schönberg
crossings. For walkers, wheelchair-users and cyclists, border crossings are present going into Bavaria (Aš
-Rehau
) and Saxony (Bad Brambach
-Plesná, Bad Brambach
-Vernéřov, Bad Elster
-Podhradí, Markneukirchen
-Luby
and Hranice-Ebmath).
The early-baroque Church of Maria Loreto in Starý Hroznatov is situated 5 km from Cheb. The annex, which had lain in ruins since 1990 has since been renovated through the initiative of an inhabitant of the neighbouring town Waldsassen
.
Notable in this area are several timbered houses in the sparsely populated villages, particularly in Doubrava
.
Eight kilometres north-east of Cheb, near the district of Nový Drahov is the popular Soos nature reserve. The reserve consists of peat moors and springs, with gas-producing mofettes. Cheb Airport
, the oldest airport in the country, is located 4,5 km south-east.
Attractions near the Bavarian border include the Komorní hůrka and Železná hůrka. These are remains of the most recent Czech volcanoes, which now form the basis of a nature reserve. This area was researched by Goethe.
For watersports enthusiasts, two reservoirs are of interest - Skalka (north-east of Cheb and fed by the Ohře
River) and Jesenice (south-east of Cheb).
The following links are in German
, and were sources used in this article
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře
Ohre
The Ohře is a 316 km long river in Germany and the Czech Republic , left tributary of the Elbe. The basin area of the river has a size of 6,255 km², of which 5,614 km² are in the Czech Republic and 641 km² in Germany...
(also called Eger in German), at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny
Fichtelgebirge
The Fichtelgebirge is a mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. It extends from the valley of the Red Main River to the Czech border, a few foothills spilling over into the Czech Republic. It continues in a northeastern direction as the Ore Mountains, and in a southeastern direction as...
and near the border with Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Prior to 1945, the town was the centre of the German-speaking region known as Egerland
Egerland
The Egerland is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in the Czech Republic at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name Eger for the city of Cheb and the main river Ohře...
, and was part of the Northern Austro-Bavarian
Northern Austro-Bavarian
Northern Bavarian is a dialect of the Bavarian language, together with Central Bavarian and Southern Bavarian. The language is mostly spoken in the Upper Palatinate, although not in Regensburg, which is a primarily Central Bavarian–speaking area, according to a linguistic survey done in the late...
dialect area.
The name of the city was in 1061 recorded as Egire; in 1179 it was known as Egra; from 1322 as Eger and the surrounding territory as Regio Egere and Provincia Egrensis; after the 14th century also as Cheb or Chba. From 1850 it was given the twin official names of Eger and Cheb.
The twin towns of Cheb are Hof
Hof, Germany
Hof is a city located on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the German state of Bavaria, in the Franconia region, at the Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Rheden
Rheden
Rheden is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.- Population centres :*Velp *Dieren *Rheden *De Steeg *Ellecom *Spankeren *Laag Soeren -Transportation:...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, situated east of the virtual border between Europe and Asia. Population: -History:...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
History
Babenberg
Originally from Bamberg in Franconia, now northern Bavaria, an apparent branch of the Babenbergs or Babenberger went on to rule Austria as counts of the march and dukes from 976–1248, before the rise of the house of Habsburg.-One or two families:...
s, but from 906 to the counts of Vohburg
Vohburg
Vohburg is a town in the district of Pfaffenhofen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, 14 km east of Ingolstadt....
, who took the title of margraves. In 1179 town status was achieved, and the castle was built in the 12th century. In 1149, by the marriage of Adela of Vohburg to the emperor Frederick I
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, Eger (Cheb) came into the possession of the House of Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
, and remained in the hands of the emperors until the early 13th century, during which time it became an Imperial Free City.
In 1265 it was taken by the king Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
, who retained it for eleven years. After being repeatedly transferred from the one power to the other, according to the preponderance of Bohemia or the empire, the town and territory were finally incorporated into Bohemia in 1322, under John of Bohemia. Several imperial privileges, however, continued to be enjoyed by the town until 1849.
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
between King Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...
and a group of Imperial Free Cities of south-west Germany, the Peace of Eger was agreed upon, after Wenceslaus had failed to secure his interests in the city.
It suffered severely during the Hussite Wars
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
, during the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
invasion in 1631 and 1647, and in the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
in 1742. In 1634, during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
was killed here. George of Podebrady
George of Podebrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...
(the main square is named after him) married his daughter and farthered two sons in the city. From the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
until 1945, the lands around the town were known by the German name Egerland
Egerland
The Egerland is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in the Czech Republic at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name Eger for the city of Cheb and the main river Ohře...
.
In 1723, Cheb became a free royal town. The northern quarter of the town was devastated by a large fire in 1809, and many middle-age buildings were irreplaceably destroyed. Until 1851, the renowned spa-town of Františkovy Lázně
Františkovy Lázne
Františkovy Lázně is a town in Cheb District of Karlovy Vary Region in the western Bohemia , near the town of Cheb with about 5,200 inhabitants....
belonged to the Magistrate of Cheb. The carbonated mineral water coming from these springs was delivered to spa visitors residing in Cheb.
Geographical centre of Europe
The location of the geographical centre of Europe depends on the definition of the borders of Europe, mainly whether remote islands are included to define the extreme points of Europe, and on the method of calculating the final result...
. This claim was documented on a copper plaque mounted at the summit.
Austrian National Socialism
Austrian National Socialism
Austrian National Socialism was a Pan-German movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement took a concrete form on November 15, 1903 when the German Worker's Party was established in Austria with its secretariat stationed in the town of Aussig...
and hence German National Socialism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
can trace its origins to Cheb when Franko Stein transferred a small newspaper (Der Hammer) from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to Cheb in 1897. There he organized a German workers congress called the Deutschvölkischer Arbeitertag, which published the 25-point program.
The terms of the 1919 Treaty of St. Germain triggered civil unrest between the Sudeten German population and the new Czechoslovak administration, just as in the rest of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
. As elsewhere, protests in the town - now officially named Cheb - were eventually suppressed by force.
On 3 October 1938, the town was visited by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
; shortly afterwards German troops marched into the Sudetenland and seized control. From 1938 until 1945 the town was annexed to Germany. On 1 May 1939, the town split away from the surrounding district to form its own municipal district together with the settlement of Matzelbach, and gave its name to the most westerly of the three administrative regions of the Sudetenland. The administrative seat of the Regierungspräsident
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
lay in Karlsbad, however.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the region was returned to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Under the Beneš decrees
Beneš decrees
Decrees of the President of the Republic , more commonly known as the Beneš decrees, were a series of laws that were drafted by the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II and issued by President...
of the same year, the German-speaking majority of the town was dispossessed of their homes and property, and was forcibly expelled from the country
Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia
The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a series of evacuations and expulsions of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II....
. In 1954, the town of Amberg
Amberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
in Germany adopted the expelled Sudeten German population from Cheb and the surrounding districts.
On 24 August 2001, German Chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
and Czech Prime Minister Miloš Zeman
Miloš Zeman
Miloš Zeman is a well-known Czech politician. He was a member and leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party, former speaker of the chamber of deputies from 1996 until 1998, and the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 until 2002. He was a frequent rival of Václav Klaus...
visited the Euregio
Euroregion
In European politics, the term Euroregion usually refers to a transnational co-operation structure between two contiguous territories located in different European countries. Euroregions represent a specific type of cross-border region.-Scope:...
Egrensis (a cross-border initiative between districts in Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia and Bohemia), and received the Freedom of the City of Cheb.
In 2004, a town-twinning agreement was made with Hof
Hof
Hof may refer to:In places:* Hof, Germany, a city in Bavaria, Germany** Hof , a district in Bavaria* Hof, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany* Hof, Iceland, a small village in Iceland...
in Bavaria. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
, Cheb has also had cordial relationships with the neighbouring German towns of Waldsassen
Waldsassen
Waldsassen is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth bordering the Czech Republic in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria.As of June 2005, Waldsassen had a population of 7,483....
and Marktredwitz
Marktredwitz
Marktredwitz is a municipality in the district of Wunsiedel, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 22 km west of Cheb, 50 km east of Bayreuth and 50 km south of Hof/Saale.The town celebrated the Horticultural Show 2006 in cooperation with Cheb....
.
Population
- 15th century - 7,300 inhabitants (one of the larger towns of BohemiaBohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
) with about 400 houses, plus 200 in suburbs - 1930 - 31,406 inhabitants, of whom 3,493 (11%) were Czech.
- 1945 - 45,000 inhabitants
- 1947 - 14,533 inhabitants, due to the expulsion of ethnic Germans and resettlement of Czechs
- 1990 - 29,962 inhabitants (1,837 houses)
- 2005 - 33,462 inhabitants
The current population includes a large group of Vietnamese, whose families were invited to the country as guest workers during the Communist era, and Roma, who were resettled after the Second World War.
Main sights
The main attractions are the Chapel of St Erhard and Ursula, the Black Tower and the ruins of a palace; all from around 1180. The chapel has two stories; the lower storey is in Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style, while the upper storey is Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. An eight-cornered opening connects the two storeys. The upper-storey contains a ribbed vault supported on four polygonal columns with statues depicting sins, including a statue of a prostitute and Onan
Onan
Onan is a minor biblical person in the Book of Genesis , who was the second son of Judah. Just like his older brother, Er, Onan died prematurely by YHWH's will for being wicked....
. In the banquet room of this castle, Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
's officers Terzky, Kinsky, Illo and Neumann were assassinated on February 25, 1634. Wallenstein himself was murdered few hours later by Captain Devereux in the burgomaster's house at the main square. The house, a 15th century gothic town hall (Pachelbel House), was transformed in 1872, it contains many historical relics and antiquities of the town of Cheb.
The Green House on the market place belonged to the well-known Wrendl dynasty, whose family crest lies above the entrance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
frequently spent time here.
The Church of St. Nicholas was established in the 13th century as a three-naved basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
, of which the western portal and the lower part of the tower remain in place. The three-part nave, presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
and sacristy
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
stem from the Gothic era. After the fire of 1742, the tower was rebuilt with a baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
, after the design of the indigenous architect Balthasar Neumann
Balthasar Neumann
Johann Balthasar Neumann , also known as Balthasar Neumann, was a [German] military artillery engineer and architect who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Italian, and French elements to design some of the most impressive buildings of the period,...
. The top of the twin steeples were destroyed by German artillery fire during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and restored in summer 2008.
The Franciscan Church is located in the town center. The Church of St. Clara was built between 1708 and 1711 according to a design of Christoph Dientzenhofer.
Surrounding area
The three world-renowned spa-towns of Karlovy VaryKarlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
(Karlsbad), Marianské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
(Marienbad) and Františkovy Lázně
Františkovy Lázne
Františkovy Lázně is a town in Cheb District of Karlovy Vary Region in the western Bohemia , near the town of Cheb with about 5,200 inhabitants....
(Franzensbad) are located only a few kilometres away from Cheb. The German state of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
is easily reached by car via the Svatý Kříž-Waldsassen
Waldsassen
Waldsassen is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth bordering the Czech Republic in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria.As of June 2005, Waldsassen had a population of 7,483....
border-crossing, while the musically renowned areas of Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
Vogtland
Vogtland
The term Vogtland refers to a region reaching across the German free states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and into the Czech Republic . The name of the region contains a reference to the former leadership by the Vögte of Weida, Gera and Plauen, which translates approximately to advocates or lord...
can be accessed via the Kraslice
Kraslice
Kraslice is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.-Geography:The town is situated on the southern slopes of the eastern reaches of the Ore Mountains, some 5 km from the neighbouring German town of Klingenthal....
-Klingenthal
Klingenthal
Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary.The Aschberg towers above the...
and Vojtanov
Vojtanov
Vojtanov is a village and municipality in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.- Notes :...
-Schönberg
Schönberg
- Germany :*Schönberg, Lower Bavaria, a town in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Bavaria*Schönberg, Upper Bavaria, a town in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria*Schönberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, district Nordwestmecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
crossings. For walkers, wheelchair-users and cyclists, border crossings are present going into Bavaria (Aš
Aš
Aš is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.-History:Previously uninhabited hills and swamps, the town of Asch was founded in the early 11th century by German colonists. Slavic settlements in the area are not known. The dialect spoken in the town was that of the Upper Palatinate,...
-Rehau
Rehau
Rehau is a town in the district of Hof, in Bavaria, Germany. The first documented name of Rehau was "Resawe" in the year 1234. Rehau is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, 12 km southeast of Hof, and 12 km west of Aš...
) and Saxony (Bad Brambach
Bad Brambach
Bad Brambach is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany....
-Plesná, Bad Brambach
Bad Brambach
Bad Brambach is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany....
-Vernéřov, Bad Elster
Bad Elster
Bad Elster is a spa town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It lies on the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic in the Elster gebirge hills. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, and is protected from extremes of temperature by the surrounding wooded...
-Podhradí, Markneukirchen
Markneukirchen
Markneukirchen is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It lies in between the Erzgebirge and the Fichtelgebirge in the Elstergebirge, southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Asch ....
-Luby
Luby (Cheb District)
Luby is a town in the Czech Republic....
and Hranice-Ebmath).
The early-baroque Church of Maria Loreto in Starý Hroznatov is situated 5 km from Cheb. The annex, which had lain in ruins since 1990 has since been renovated through the initiative of an inhabitant of the neighbouring town Waldsassen
Waldsassen
Waldsassen is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth bordering the Czech Republic in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria.As of June 2005, Waldsassen had a population of 7,483....
.
Doubrava
is a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It has a population of 1,507 and lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia....
.
Eight kilometres north-east of Cheb, near the district of Nový Drahov is the popular Soos nature reserve. The reserve consists of peat moors and springs, with gas-producing mofettes. Cheb Airport
Cheb Airport
Cheb Airport is the oldest airport on area of the Czech Republic. It is located 4,5 km from city of Cheb ....
, the oldest airport in the country, is located 4,5 km south-east.
Attractions near the Bavarian border include the Komorní hůrka and Železná hůrka. These are remains of the most recent Czech volcanoes, which now form the basis of a nature reserve. This area was researched by Goethe.
For watersports enthusiasts, two reservoirs are of interest - Skalka (north-east of Cheb and fed by the Ohře
Ohre
The Ohře is a 316 km long river in Germany and the Czech Republic , left tributary of the Elbe. The basin area of the river has a size of 6,255 km², of which 5,614 km² are in the Czech Republic and 641 km² in Germany...
River) and Jesenice (south-east of Cheb).
Famous people
- Prof. Peter GlotzPeter GlotzPeter Glotz was a German social democratic politician and social scientist.Glotz was born in Eger, Sudetenland , to a German father and a Czech mother. His father, an insurance-clerk and member of the Nazi party, worked for an "aryanized" Jewish factory in Prague...
, SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
politician, publicist and media analyst, member of the German BundestagBundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
; born in Cheb in 1939. - Heinrich Gradl, historian born in Cheb in 1842.
- Johann HabermannJohann HabermannJohann Habermann, also Johannes Avenarius was a German Lutheran theologian.-Life:He was born at Eger on August 10, 1516. He went over to the Lutheran Church about 1540, studied theology, and filled a number of pastorates...
, Lutheran theologian, born in 1516. - Helmut Lederer, sculptor, born in 1913.
- Johann Georg MacasiusJohann Georg MacasiusJohann Georg Macasius was a German physician. He was born in Eger, Bohemia .-Education:He received the Medicinae Doctorate from the University of Jena in 1638...
, physician born 1617. - Pavel NedvědPavel NedvedPavel Nedvěd is a retired Czech football midfielder. He is one of the most successful Czech players to emerge from the newly formed Czech Republic, winning numerous accolades with Lazio and Juventus, including the last ever Cup Winners' Cup...
, footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Czech nationalCzech Republic national football teamThe Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...
and Juventus F.C.Juventus F.C.Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
footballer. - Johann Balthasar Neumann, baroque architect.
- Dr. Erich Riedl, CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
politician and member of the German BundestagBundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
, born in Cheb, 1933. - Johann Adam Schertzer, Protestant theologian, born in 1628.
- Kaspar Schlick, born in 1396 who became the chancellor under three different kings and one of the most politically significant figures of the 15th century.
- Rudolf SerkinRudolf SerkinRudolf Serkin , was a Bohemian-born pianist.-Life and early career:Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire to a Russian-Jewish family....
, Cheb born pianist of Jewish-Russian ancestry - Norbert SingerNorbert SingerNorbert Singer is a German automotive engineer. He has played a key role in every one of Porsche’s 16 overall race victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.Singer was born in Eger , part of Nazi Germany's Sudetenland in 1939....
, responsible for many of PorschePorschePorsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
’s victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans24 Hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
race - Albrecht von Wallenstein, military leader during Thirty Years' WarThirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
was killed in Cheb. - Johannes WidmannJohannes WidmannJohannes Widmann was a German mathematician who invented the addition and the subtraction signs.Born at in Eger, Bohemia, Widmann attended the University of Leipzig in the 1480s, and published Behende und hubsche Rechenung auff allen Kauffmanschafft Johannes Widmann (c. 1460 - after 1498) was a...
, mathematician born in 1460. - Josef Hazi, born in 1991.
Districts
Cheb is divided into the following districts (German names given in brackets)- Bříza (Pirk)
- Cetnov (Zettendorf)
- Dolní Dvory (Unterschön)
- Dřenice (Treunitz)
- Háje (Gehaag)
- Horní Dvory (Oberschön)
- Hradiště (Reichersdorf)
- Hrozňatov (Kinsberg)
- Cheb (Eger)
- Chvoječná (Sebenbach)
- Jindřichov (Honnersdorf)
- Klest (Reißig)
- Loužek (Au)
- Pelhřimov (Pilmersreuth)
- Podhoří (Kreuzenstein)
- Podhrad (Pograth)
- Skalka (Stein)
- Střížov (Triesenhof)
- Tršnice (Tirschnitz)
External links
The following links are in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and were sources used in this article